From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
Newsgroups: alt.magick,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.religion.wicca,alt.pagan,alt.occult
Subject: Readings on Magick/Wicca (Books/couple of URLs)
Date: 14 Sep 1997 03:42:03 -0700
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49970914 aa2 Hail Satan!
blkkiss777@aol.com (BlkKiss777):
# The best way to start the path towards becoming a Magickian (most
# Magickians don't call themselves Mages anymore because it sounds way to
# much like RPG, and even those Magickians who play Role Playing Games like
# to distance their Magickal selves from the game)
some of us like 'mage' and don't bother distancing from RPGs, since we
know it is all an RPG anyway.
# is to find a good teacher,
this is problematic. without already knowing the subject, one may not be able
to discern 'good' from 'bad' in instructors. those who claim to know alot
aren't necessarily the best instructors even if they *do* know alot. there
are certain qualities of character which make for good teaching skills in
general and others beyond this which make an instructor good for magical
studes (of course depending on what one means by this phrase). magick teachers
regularly hamstring and damage their students beware. people take on the task
of instruction many times in order to bolster their poor self-image and
inferior education.
# or find some good books, depending on the traditions you wish to study.
books can be a valuable study aid.
# For Golden Dawn/Qaballah try:
# Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig
# The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
# The Tree of Life by Israel Regardie
# The Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Regardie
# Self Initiation in the Golden Dawn System by Chic & S.T. Cicero
# Mystical Qaballah by Dion Fortune
note: most of the GD stuff appears to be self-dissolutory.
beware, regardless of how much they deny this. if
you like the style, this is a decent list, combined
with some of the material of similar style below.
# For Thelema try:
# Liber Al vel Legis sub figura CCXX (or The Book of the Law)
# as recieved by: Aleister Crowley.
totally unnecessary to the study of magick, Thelemic or non.
# Magick of Thelema by Lon Milo DuQuette
# New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears by Gerald deCampo
my sources indicate that these contain unnecessary text. if you
are interested in traditional Thelemic rites perhaps they is
important. otherwise, these may be omitted too.
# Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley
# Book 4: Liber ABA by Aleister Crowley
the first here is contained within the latter. I highly recommend
this text as formative of a scientific assimilation of the field.
don't take it too literally. digest it slowly and question every
bit of it without taking anything except as you have had it
demonstrated to you or you demonstrate it yourself.
# Magick without Tears by Aleister Crowley
another excellent choice, don't be surprised if alot of his religious
shit goes over your head. not important most of the time to have
understood it (that Thelemic religion with the Evul Book and the
hordes of will-sword-swallowers is more often than not an obstacle).
# Gems from the Equinox by Aleister Crowley
another good choice, though this was edited by Regardie, so take that
into consideration. his compilation is a valuable condensation of
the larger corpus. in general his most dense text and his most
simple explanations will provide the most lasting substance.
# For Wicca/Witchcraft try:
# Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary by Scott Cunningham
# Living Wicca: A Further Guide by Scott Cunningham
I have only heard that the first Cunninham here stated was valuable.
# Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
# The Witches Bible Compleat by Janet & Stewart Farrar
these two are very influential in the field. many witches of Wiccan
and nonWiccan variety will tell you that books aren't the way to
learn witchcraft, however. beware.
# The Witch's Circle by Maria K. Simms
# Witta: An Irish Pagan Tradition by Edain McCoy
I've never heard of these.
# Other Books of Interest:
# Ritual Magic by Francis X. King
King is sometimes a dubious source, though I often find him valuable.
# Tarot for Beginners by P. Scott Hollander
dunno this one. tarot, not magick.
# Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple by Chic & S.T. Cicero
# Equinox & Solstice Ceremonies of the G.D. by Pat & Chris Zalewski
these look like they should be included in the GD stuff above.
Cicero and Zalewski are popular in the GD culture.
# Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley
valuable for anyone who likes tarot and is attracted to the
Harris/Crowley tarot deck. as a study-guide for magick it is
absolutely value for mages of the Thelemic religious character.
# Psychic Self Defense by Dion Fortune
this could go along with the GD materials and crosses over into
the spooky-spiritualism-politico-magick-wars, of dubious value.
there are excellent booklists also connected to the alt.magick
FAQ, located at:
http://www.hollyfeld.org/amgkfaq
Crowley's works can be found at:
http://www.hollyfeld.org/Text/Magick/Crowley/
tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
--
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